A Message from Deacon Chau

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody.
  Help! You know I need someone. Help!
  
  That was The Beatles in 1965. And the rest is history, replete with good memories.
  
  Now, here we are in 2024. Jeff Moses has been chosen to be St. Nicholas Church’s nominee for Catholic Man of the Year. You quite likely know our neighbors, Jeff and Del, whose fish fries I thrived on one whole Lenten season. Good memories just get better! Jeff is omnipresent on our parish premises; it’s almost as if he lives here. He is very involved in many parish ministries and events. He has invited Ann and me to the 4-hour award dinner on November 3rd! He intends to invite those who are close to him or who have helped him become the Catholic man he is today. How much closer can we be, being their next door neighbors? So, I pray for Jeff and Del.
  
  Then a chain of events followed. Ann reminded me that I can no longer attend a meeting longer than an hour. Out of the blue, I saw the email from Margarita, our front Office everything hero, reminding me to write this week’s bulletin article. So, I read that at Capernaum, Jesus described his Man or Woman of the (Eternal) Year:
  
  “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me,
  receives not me but the One who sent me.”
  
  Since Jesus wasn’t talking about abortion in Nazareth or Capernaum, I suggested to Jeff that he invite the least among us, like the frequenting homeless brothers/sisters, or the humble volunteers, to take our places at the award dinner, where I do believe Men/Women of the Year meet. It takes one to receive one, right?
  
  Let’s pray for Jeff, and for us, to seize the opportunities to receive those who can’t even help us become who we are, but by receiving them, our children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, we become and fulfill the Good News. By receiving them, we may truly become Christ’s Men/Women of the Year. Amen.
  
  Dcn. Chau and Ann Tran
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
  
  Today, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary time, we hear from the gospel of St. Mark. Jesus and his disciples are making their way towards Jerusalem. Suddenly, Jesus pauses and turns to his trusted friends and asks them a question: “Who do the people say that I am?” Their answers are just reporting what they have heard. Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others, one of the prophets. While these are all good and true answers of themselves, Jesus next asks them: “But who do you say I am?” Now Jesus is getting personal! It is Peter, who boldly professes, “You are the Christ.” I am not certain whether Peter fully understood what he said. But nevertheless, he said it.
  
  As part of our prayer time this week, let us pause, ponder and respond to the following:
  Who do you say that Jesus is? What role does he play in your life?
  
  In His love,
  Deacon Jerry